SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sports Hall of Fame has inducted some excellent classes over its 29 years. But it’s hard to match the star power of the 2024 group.
On Wednesday night, the Hall of Fame will induct late Stanford mega-donor John Arrillaga, world champion boxer Robert Guerrero, Super Bowl champion Mike Holmgren and Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings in its latest class.
For each inductee – and for those who represent Arrillaga’s legacy – this honor stands out among the many they have attained in their legendary careers.
“It’s always like, ‘Oh, that’s so nice,’ and you kind of want to dismiss it a little bit. But it’s very special,” Walsh Jennings said. “It’s significant, because the legacy of this Hall of Fame is incredibly special, and everyone that’s in it has done amazing things. My class alone is very special. So it means a lot. It’s very, very humbling. It makes me want to go and do more and better, but it really ultimately makes me so proud.”
Walsh Jennings, an Archbishop Mitty alum and four-time state champion, recently relocated her family to San Jose so her kids could attend high school at Mitty. The three-time Olympic champion noted that the Bay Area’s unique sports culture was a perfect fit for her young family.
“Excellence is the undercurrent in making dreams come true,” she said. “I grew up as a kid in the ‘80s here, and the Niners were champions constantly. The Giants and the Warriors, and Santa Clara and Stanford, my parents took us to all these things. It was in my DNA.”
Kerri Walsh Jennings tells a story during the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame media day at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Much of Stanford’s success was spearheaded by Arrillaga, where Walsh Jennings was a four-time first-team All-American. Arrillaga’s influence and generous donations have permeated Stanford’s campus for decades, enabling the Cardinal to substantially upgrade their athletic facilities and become a force to be reckoned with on the national level.
“John was very recognized at Stanford. He was very recognized in Palo Alto, and that was kind of his playground, per se,” said Ray Purpur, Stanford’s deputy athletics director and a longtime friend of Arrillaga. “For him to be recognized throughout the whole county where he built his business and where he was relatively unknown, to now come and honor him at this point, the family is very excited.”
Arrillaga, who died in 2022, established his fortune largely in Silicon Valley, where he acquired and developed commercial real estate ahead of the tech boom. His influence was felt greatest at Stanford, where he was a basketball All-American in the 1950s, but he was involved with other Bay Area universities as well.
“He had office space and land all over the Santa Clara Valley,” Purpur said. “That’s where he made his fortune. He’s been a sponsor of this event for 30 years. He’s done philanthropy at San Jose State and Santa Clara and has been involved all around the county.”
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero smiles as San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan talks about him during the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame media day at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Guerrero grew up in Gilroy, where he was trained by his father, Ruben, a former amateur boxing champion. He earned a Junior Olympics gold medal at 15 and turned professional at 18, ultimately winning world championship fights in two different weight classes.
“It means a lot,” Guerrero said of his induction. “It’s cool. I’m excited, and it hasn’t set in yet. It’s a trip. It was cool to grow up here and see everything that goes on (boxing-wise). Now I’m getting honored by the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.
“It’s incredible. I’ve been honored by the San Francisco Boxing Hall of Fame, California Boxing Hall of Fame. But this one’s a little bit different, because it’s home and it’s the Sports Hall of Fame, not just specifically boxing.”
Guerrero takes pride in being a Gilroy native, and his son is carrying on his legacy as a fighter. Robert Guerrero III is now 4-0 as a professional, but he has a long way to go to catch his father. Guerrero finished his professional career with a record of 38-6-1, including 20 knockouts.
“You’ve got all these young kids looking up to me, and my son looking up to me also. Being able to represent boxing in the Bay Area is incredible,” Guerrero said. “How far I came, coming from Gilroy, little agriculture town, and doing big things, being on the biggest stage that you could possibly imagine, it’s incredible.”
Mike Holmgren, center, tells a story next to Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and Kerri Walsh Jennings during the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame media day at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Holmgren began his coaching career as an assistant at Lincoln High School in San Jose, his alma mater, before moving to Sacred Heart Cathedral and then Oak Grove, where he spent six years and won a CCS championship in 1978. A whirlwind ascension led him to the San Francisco 49ers six years later, where he coached Joe Montana and Steve Young to Super Bowls as their quarterbacks coach and later offensive coordinator.
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“It established my coaching philosophy,” Holmgren said of his tenure at Oak Grove. “I’m a coach, but I’m a teacher. Whether I’m teaching ninth-graders or 12th-graders or Joe Montana or somebody else, it’s my job to teach them, get them ready and help them be the best they can be. I learned that as a high school coach, because that’s what you have to do in high school. When you get them when they’re young, they don’t know much, and then you help them do that.”
Holmgren eventually became head coach of the Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl with Brett Favre in 1997 as the crowning achievement of his career. But wherever he went, he always leaned on the lessons he learned in San Jose to inform his coaching.
“You saw the kids in the classroom and other environments, and I think that really helped us,” Holmgren said. “It helped us communicate with them on the field. It was good for me, and I hope it was good for them.”
The four honorees will be officially inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Wednesday night at SAP Center.
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, left, chats with Mike Holmgren during the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame media day at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Mike Holmgren wears his 1989 Super Bowl ring he won as the offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers during the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame media day at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Kerri Walsh Jennings autographs items during the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame media day at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
